Santbir Singh

Research Associate

Santbir Singh is a Research Associate with SikhRI. He is currently doing his Ph.D. in Sociology at York University. His graduate research focuses on Sikh activism and the inherent relationship between Sikhi and anarchism explored through historical and contemporary Sikh movements, such as the Kisān Morcha (Farmer’s Protests) of 2020-2021. 

Santbir Singh has served as an educator and activist in the Sikh community for over two decades. He continues cultivating a deeper relationship with Sabad Guru while focusing on Sikh inspirations for social activism, feminism, and decolonization through a multifaceted critical analysis using different schools of thought and tradition.

Santbir Singh is a facilitator at Sidak and an alumnus of Sidak 2012. He lives on Wendat, Anishinabek, Haudenosaunee, Mississauga, Hiawatha, Alderville & Métis Territory on Williams Treaties land (colonially known as Toronto), Canada, with his wonderful wife, incredible children, and wild dog.

Videos

Friday
,
12
December
2025

Sikhi & Death: A Gurmat-Based Understanding

Death comes for all of us. Yet we live in a culture that endlessly tries to escape this reality—through our obsession with youth, medical interventions to delay aging, or the way death is sensationalized in popular media.

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Tuesday
,
12
August
2025

Sabad 4: The Speech of Truth

Our final session examines the last sabad of Babarvani (Utterances on Babar), found in Rag Tilang (Guru Granth Sahib, p. 722). This sabad is unique in its structure, beginning as a direct address to Bhai Lalo, the Guru’s devoted Sikh who witnessed the...

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Tuesday
,
12
August
2025

Sabad 3: The Corruption of Wealth

In this session, we explore the third sabad from Babarvani (Utterances on Babar) and Rag Asa (Guru Granth Sahib, p. 417). Guru Nanak Sahib exposes the fleeting nature of material wealth, describing how the riches of the elite vanish in an instant with...

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Tuesday
,
12
August
2025

Sabad 2: The Plight of Women in War

This session focuses on the second sabad from Babarvani (Utterances on Babar) and also in Rag Asa (Guru Granth Sahib, p. 417).

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Tuesday
,
12
August
2025

Introduction to Babarvani and Sabad 1: The Terror of Hindustan

In our first session, we explore the background of Babarvani (Utterances on Babar), beginning with the meaning of Vani, the identity of Babar, and the political landscape of South Asia at the time.

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Wednesday
,
9
July
2025

Seva in Sikh History

This session traces the evolution of Seva throughout Sikh history, from the time of the Gurus to the present day. It examines Seva in its many forms—spiritual, communal, and revolutionary—while connecting it to broader frameworks of the Sikh revolution...

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Podcasts

Tuesday
,
14
April
2026

Sirdar Kapur Singh's Idea of the Sikh Homeland

In this episode of the Sikh Cast, join researchers Santbir Singh and Damanpreet Singh as they explore the writings of Sirdar Kapur Singh, one of the leading Sikh thinkers of the twentieth century.

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Friday
,
10
April
2026

Sovereignty in Motion: Sikh Governance Models

In this episode of the Sikh Cast, join Researchers Santbir Singh and Damanpreet Singh as they reflect on Vaisakhi and the principle of sovereignty. The two discuss Santbir Singh’s article, titled: Sovereignty in Motion: Sikh Governance Models.

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Friday
,
23
January
2026

Sikhi & Death: A Gurmat-Based Understanding

In this podcast, we are invited to pause and reflect: What does Sikhi actually say about death? How are we meant to face it, understand it, and live in its awareness? 

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Thursday
,
7
November
2024

Heartbeats of ‘84

Join host Santbir Singh as he delves into the profound impact of 1984 through the personal reflections of guest Pritpal Singh.

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Saturday
,
29
June
2024

The Attack on Political Sikhi

Manvinder Kaur and Santbir Singh explore the events of 1984 that forever transformed the landscape of Sikh history and politics in India.

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Friday
,
28
June
2024

Why Was Bhindranwale There?

Santbir Singh delves into the complex and sometimes controversial legacy of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale during the events of June 1984.

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Articles

Tuesday
,
7
April
2026

Sovereignty in Motion: Sikh Governance Models

In the Sikh tradition, sovereignty is a boon of the Divine, entrusted to the House of Nanak and carried forward through the Gurus into the dual institution of Guru Granth and Panth.

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Friday
,
27
February
2026

Guru Harikrishan Sahib: Capacity, Care, and the Rights of Children

Explore how Guru Harikrishan Sahib redefined leadership as a child. This article invites readers to reflect on what the Guru’s life teaches us about children’s rights, capacity, and Sikh ethics of care.

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Thursday
,
29
January
2026

Joy as Refusal

Guru Gobind Sahib’s engagement with aesthetics, joy, and poetry became tools against imperial attempts to shrink Sikh life into fear, silence, and mere survival.

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Tuesday
,
28
October
2025

Guru Harirai Sahib: The Healer and the Defender

Guru Har Rai’s reign was one of seeming contradictions: compassion and ever-readiness to fight for sovereignty, spiritual and political development, and strengthening and consolidating innovations of earlier Gurus.

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Monday
,
8
September
2025

The Legacy of Jaswant Singh Khalra

30 years later, what can we learn from Jaswant Singh Khalra—who exposed Punjab Police crimes of extrajudicial killings and cremations?

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Tuesday
,
4
June
2024

Why Was Bhindranwale There?

Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale is a pivotal figure in the events of 1984. There is much consternation and confusion over his actions and choices in the lead-up to the June 1984 Ghallughara.

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Presenting at Upcoming Events

Sat
,
May 2

Gurduara Reform Movement: An Exploration

Explore how colonial rule reshaped Sikh institutions—shifting Gurduara control to mahants and elites, enabling corruption and discrimination.

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